A Look Back At ‘The IT Crowd’'s Most Deranged Episode

Remember ‘The Contest’, that classic episode from Seinfeld? Of course you do. ‘The Contest’ is widely regarded as one of the best, if not the best, Seinfeld episode, and for good reasons. It is the show at the peak of its quality, it has a simple yet intriguing premise, and the arcs, dialogue, and jokes all hit the spot – which means it works as a perfect introduction to the show for potential viewers out of the loop. Well, to our astonishment, we realized Cracked had no article on the classic British sitcom The IT Crowd, and so before It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia references it and it gets even mainstream-er, we thought we’d use it to introduce the show to you.

For example, this is Matt Berry. This is a name you should learn.

For those unaware, The It Crowd is a sitcom by Father Ted co-creator absolute douchebag Graham Lineham that ran from 2006 to 2013. Simply put, it is a damn funny show, and one can easily see why it has reached the legendary status it has. It deals with three just sad characters working at the IT Department of Reynholm Industries (the lad in the video above is their dim-witted CEO), and their twisted, misanthropic, deranged hijinks. It’s like The Big-Bang Theory, but – come on, you know how this sentence ends– actually funny. And yes, the US did try to remake it, and it didn’t work. Oh, and it’s a short series, just four seasons, so you should definitely get on it.

Alright, with the introduction out of the way, let’s get to what can be considered its best episode, season 2’s opener, ‘The Work Outing.’ 

Without spoiling anything, Jen receives a date invitation from her crush to go see a musical, and Roy and Moss tag along.  Now, we would say that ‘hilarity ensues,’ but that’s not the half of it. After even more shenanigans Moss ends up working at the theater’s bar, Jen's torn between her date’s invitation and sexuality and Roy – well, if we’re not even gonna spoil what happens to Roy. Let’s just say that Roy’s plotline features some of the most hilarious scenes you’ll watch, just super-cringe comedy gold. ‘The Work Outing’ is truly one of The It Crowd’s very best, and a definite good pick to get into the show.

And finally some trivia: Community’s Joel McHale was in the failed American It Crowd… And The It Crowd’s Matt Berry was in Community. As we said: get on it.

Top Image: Talkback Thames